Noticed an industrial odor near South Portland?

South Portland and Portland have been tracking these smell complaints since 2019. If you've been smelling something, you're not alone.

Imagine you buy a house in south Portland and smell gas fumes everyday.

- Portland resident

Would be pretty cool if the city of south portland prioritized the health of it's citizens

- Portland resident

I have to go inside because the air smells terrible.

- Portland resident

This happens at night and runs off into the morning. Woke us up even with our windows closed.

- Portland resident

The smell of gas was very strong last night in the cash corner area.

- Portland resident

Smelled strong oil on outer Broadway near the greater Portland Christian school.

- Portland resident

I noticed this smell again several times this week. The odor seems stronger this week than it has been in the past. I cannot be outside.

- Portland resident

Very irritating overwhelming. Occurred on veterans bridge at 9 PM last night next to Sprague oil tanks

- Portland resident

Started about an hour ago. Windy day but the smell has been persistent.

- Portland resident

I live in the West End. Many days this summer the odor has been very unpleasant. It feels toxic.

- Portland resident

Criminal this is still happening all years. Authorities let it go on...and....on.

- Portland resident

Strong Industrial Odors

Residents in South Portland and Portland have often described strong neighborhood odors for years. These smells were frequently described as industrial in nature; given the large oil storage tanks nearby, local and state governments have been working to gauge the severity of the problem.

These cities have tracked thousands online smell complaints for this issue, logging the date, location, odor descriptions, and personal symptoms. You can visually explore this data for yourself below.

[INSERT COMPLAINT MAP HERE]

What does it smell like?

Throughout thousands of complaints, several descriptions of the local smells are repeated often: "petroleum", "tar", "oil", "asphalt", "sulfur", "gas". Hundreds of the complaints also mention feeling nausea, throat irritation, and headaches.

[AARON WILL PUT A GRAPHIC HERE TO DESCRIBE THE ODORS AND/OR SYMPTOMS]

Where and when do the smells occur?

The smells are reported most frequently along South Portland's northern coastline and throughout Portland's West End. There is a strong seasonal component to the complaints, which increase in the summer with higher temperatures.

The smells appear to correlate strongly with wind direction in some places. Inside Portland's West End, odor complaints are much likelier on days the wind is blowing from the south - i.e., the direction of South Portland's oil storage tanks. See the histogram below, which displays the average number of daily complaints in the West End when the wind is blowing from each direction. The complaints clearly spike when wind blows from the south.

Select a County

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Instructions

Select a county to change geographic focus of the map on the right. Select a data source to view different layers on top of the map.

Map

Methodology

This map visualizes internet tier and underserved areas on a county-by-county basis. By breaking down the dataset into county-sized pieces, the map can show full resolution without sacrificing too much speed or usability.

Analysis

This space is reserved for further commentary pending conversation with the stakeholders.

Acknowledgements

Developed by DS5110 students at The Roux Institute, Northeastern University, Spring 2022.